LAKKI MARWAT: The residents of Janikhel area of Bannu on Monday placed the bodies of four teenage boys in front of the local police station to protest their brutal murder.

Locals had recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of the teenagers from a field the other day and shifted them to the district headquarters hospital. The deceased had been missing for last three weeks.

“The boys aged between 13 to 17 years had gone on hunting birds about three weeks ago, but they did not return to their homes,” a relative of the victims told Dawn. He said the relatives had launched a search for them but failed to find their whereabouts.

On Sunday, a shepherd was grazing cattle in the fields when his dogs started scratching a place with their paws. He got suspicious and informed the locals, including the victim boys’ relatives, who later dug out the bodies.

Bodies were dug out from fields on Sunday

The victims were identified as Ahmadullah, Mohammad Rahim, Razamullah and Atifullah.

According to the residents of Janikhel, the four boys were fond of hunting birds and wild hare in the area.

A relative of the deceased said they received the bodies from the hospital and then along with tribesmen took the coffins to the Janikhel police station to stage a sit-in there. He said the families of the deceased had no enmity with anyone.

The police said they had registered a case against unknown killers and were investigating the murders.

Speaking at the protest demonstration, the tribal elders said the brutal killing of four boys had proved that miscreants and anti-state elements were free to sabotage peace and harmony in the area.

They asked the authorities to trace the perpetrators behind the incident. They also asked the government to take measures for restoration of peace in Janikhel and announce Shuhada Package for the victims’ families.

Separately, a five-year-old boy was hit and killed by a speeding motorcycle in Ismaili Mammakhel locality of Bannu on Monday.

Police identified the deceased as Asim Khan of Azad Mandi area.

The Haved police registered a case against the bike rider who escaped the place.

Also, a man was killed over a land dispute in Tajori area of Lakki Marwat.

The police said Afsar Khan and his father, Nazar Khan were cutting wood in Walai Shagai village when accused Shamrez along with accomplices came there and opened fire on Nazar, killing him on the spot.

The body was shifted to a hospital in Tajori town. The police registered a case against the killer and his accomplices.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2021